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Selling or Liquidating your Notes on Lending Club (and some other P2P insights)

By Erik Zimerman On May 2, 2016 · Add Comment · In The Whiskey Room

Lending Club, among other players in the industry such as Prosper, is one of the great success stories in the peer-to-peer revolution, or the “share economy”. The idea is simple enough, the internet is ideal for cutting out middlemen, so why not banks? In the idealized (and fictitious) scenario, a bank is an institution that takes and safeguards deposits from people in exchange for an interest rate, say 2%, and then uses those deposits to make loans to people and businesses that need them at a higher interest, say for example 6%. The Bank is thus simply an intermediary that facilitates a market in which some people have money they wish to save, and others need loans to invest or purchase goods and services with. Lenders and borrowers. The margin between the two rates, 6 and 2 percent respectively, is the gross profit of the bank, in this case 4%. And of course, out of that 4%, the bank presumably has to pay its many expenses such as rent, insurance, marketing, staff salaries (a really high-tech secure vault like in the movies) and the like. And finally, like in any business, if there is some profit leftover after all these [...]

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Debunking Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) & Understanding it First

By Erik Zimerman On April 21, 2014 · 56 Comments · In The Whiskey Room

Firstly, your humble writer, who was distracted first by untimely (though much enjoyed) reserve duty, and then quite a heavy workload, failed to convey his profound and (at the time) prophetic commentary on important recent events; Putin and Ukraine, the capture of El Chapo, and so forth. Though we shall hopefully revisit some of these in any event, a good way to get back into rhythm is write about a subject less pressing on the clock. And what better field than the “Voodo” mysteries on the attempts at making a science out of economics. In recent years, an imaginative group often going by “MMTers”, and usually finding the amiable and articulate Mr. Warren Mosler leading their charge, have caused quite a stir, at least among the more thoughtful part of the electorate. Firstly, we must point out that for the most part, proponents of MMT insist that it is not an ideology or even a proponent of any specific economic policy, but rather merely aims to describe the way money works in the modern world; hence Modern Monetary Theory. Specifically, they refer to a fiat currency regime (with the fiat as legal tender, and taxes) with a free-floating exchange rate. [...]

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A Final Case – Can you really Vote for Obama?

By Erik Zimerman On November 6, 2012 · 1 Comment · In Against the Wind, The Whiskey Room

The election is here, and after all the ads, rhetoric, pundits and political games, the truth remains, though hidden under the heap. Will you return Obama for a second term? Has he earned it? Is it good for the country? Will he do a better job than Mitt Romney? The answer to these questions is strikingly simple; let’s clear away the heap of campaign promises and jingles, let us look at the facts. No spin, no over-interpretations, plain simple vanilla facts. And then we will add some interpretation. Why not. Mitt Romney Romney’s case is a simple one. Mitt Romney is a fine example of an outstanding American, an accomplished individual, and unlike many accomplished individuals, one with a squeaky clean ethical record. He has not betrayed, lied, taken bribes, broken the law, had sexual scandals or any of the other niceties that plague many modern politicians (that we know of). True, part of the reason he is above some of those temptations is that he himself is wealthy and in less need of other wealthy people’s money. Not a bad thing. Mitt Romney has set out to do things in his life and has done them well. He spent a quarter of [...]

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All the best Mr. Bush, We will miss you.

By Erik Zimerman On January 21, 2009 · 3 Comments · In Against the Wind, The Whiskey Room

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Selling or Liquidating your Notes on Lending Club (and some other P2P insights)

Debunking Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) & Understanding it First

A Final Case – Can you really Vote for Obama?

All the best Mr. Bush, We will miss you.

Recent Posts

Top Posts & Pages

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Subscribe to Blog via Email